This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-148060, filed May 19, 2000, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an endoscope system consisting of endoscopes and peripherals connecting the endoscopes with one another.
When an endoscope is used, it is required to clean/disinfect the endoscope to prevent subsequent patients from being infected. For that reason, it is desirable that such an endoscope have visible cleaning information (cleaner used, cleaning/disinfection date, person who cleaned/ disinfected the endoscope, etc.).
Further, to prevent damage to an endoscope and to clarify inspection timing, it is preferable to store information such as use history (day when the endoscope was used, cumulative times of use (cleaning/disinfection), users, previous inspection/maintenance day) and the like.
Conventionally, however, a user who uses the endoscope checks and records such characteristic information.
Namely, the conventional technique has disadvantages as follows:
(1) If there are a plurality of endoscopes, it is inconvenient to discriminate and manage each of them.
(2) Even if information is managed by a computer, it is necessary to input the information every time it is required, which takes labor.
In case of cleaning/disinfecting the endoscopes between tests, in particular, it is difficult to record the above-stated information in a short time although it is desirable to make the cleaning/disinfection time as short as possible so as to conduct tests efficiently.
Further, as for an endoscope into which a memory is incorporated to store the above-stated information, if the memory is broken, the information stored therein may be damaged or lost.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an endoscope system capable of automatically conducting maintenance/recording of endoscope information which has been conventionally conducted by a user thereby lessening the user""s burden and improving the reliability of information maintenance.
To obtain the above object, an endoscope system according to the first aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising:
at least one of an endoscope including a first discrimination section having readable characteristic information for discriminating each endoscope, a peripheral device including a second discrimination section having readable characteristic information for discriminating each peripheral device and a third discrimination section having readable characteristic information for discriminating an operator operating the endoscope or the peripheral device;
a reading section capable of reading the characteristic information of one of the first, second and third discrimination sections; and
management means for managing a status of use of the endoscope and information related to the peripheral device and the endoscope based on a reading result of the reading section.
In addition, an endoscope system according to the second aspect of the present invention is characterized by comprising:
a discrimination section provided integrally with an endoscope and having readable characteristic discrimination information for discriminating each endoscope;
a reading section reading the discrimination information on the endoscope from the discrimination section; and
individual information conversion section converting the discrimination information on the endoscope read by the reading section into individual information on the endoscope.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.